324 MAMMALIA: INSECTIVORA. — XLIX. 
form is var. leucotis Gapper, larger, the brownish band on back 
narrow. The typical carolinensis is Southern, N. to St. Louis. 
| ah be a Wee 
1061. S. niger L. Fox Squrrrei. General color rusty gray, 
varying from almost white, through various shades of rusty red, to 
jet black, the latter color rare northward, reddish and orange shades 
predominating westward; tail very large and bushy. L. 26. T. 11. 
E. U. S., very abundant 8S. W., N. to Mass. Leading varieties are: 
var. niger, the Southern form, gray to black, with the ears and nose 
white, the belly reddish; var. cinereus L., the Eastern form, similar 
in color, the ears and nose not white, the ears short, scarcely longer 
than the fur; and var. ludovicianus Custis, the common Western 
Fox Squirrel, with high ears and a prevailing tinge of orange red ; 
ears, feet and belly reddish. 
555. SCIUROPTERUS Frédéric Cuvier. (cxiovpos, squirrel ; 
m@repov, Wing.) 
1062. S. volans!(L.). Common FLYING SquirREL. Dull yel- 
lowish brown, creamy white below. L.10. T.4. N.Am., abundant. 
The Canadian form, var. sabrinus Shaw, is larger (L. about 12; 
T. 44), with more dusky, especially on tail. (Lat., flying.) 
‘“‘ But we have reached the end of the chain of rodent beings of 
the earth, the water, and almost of the air, a cycle of mammalian 
life which cireumscribes extraordinary diversity of form and func- 
tion, revolving about a single central point of organization, namely, 
adze-like teeth, to gnaw wood with. ‘The number of individuals 
which make a living in this way in a world of Malthusian strife is 
simply incalculable. . . . Yet they have one obvious part to play, 
that of turning grass into flesh, in order that carnivorous Goths 
and Vandals may subsist also, and in their turn proclaim, ‘ All 
flesh is grass.’” (Cowes.) 
Orpver XLIX. INSECTIVORA. (Tue INSECT-EATERS.) 
Teeth of three kinds, molars, canines and incisors, all with 
enamel; brain small, the cerebrum without sylvian fissure; limbs 
well-developed and adapted for walking. 
A large group of small animals, analogous to the Carnivora in 
many respects, but the individuals so small as to be unable to attack 
vertebrate animals, and therefore feeding chiefly on insects. But 
two of the numerous families are represented in our fauna. 
a. Fur soft, without spines; sides of body without membrane for ‘flying; ” 
canine teeth indistinct. 
1 This is Mus volansL. S. N. ed. x. p.63. Sciurus volans L. (p. 64) is the European 
Flying Squirrel, Pferomys volans. 
